Four States Art Show

Three local artists have had six of their art works juried for exhibition in the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council’s 36th Annual Adult Juried Art Exhibition.

Earning acceptance into the show which opened Friday and continues through Aug. 10 are Rebecca Narramore of Linden, Terri deNatale of Linden and Patty Lovelace of Marshall.

Juried art means that an art professional from outside the Texarkana area has looked at the works submitted and judged which are to be shown in the exhibition. The juror for this show was Dr. Trina Harlow of the University of North Texas. Dr. Harlow is director of undergraduate studies in art education for the university’s College of Visual Art & Design, according to Kay Thomas, TRAHC visual arts director.

Two of the three local artists attended the opening ceremonies for the show Friday and are pictured with their work. Terri deNatalie was ill and unable to attend in person, but is included here as well.

Each of the three gave a short explanation of her art work.

“Laura’s Barber Shop” and a “A Slice of Harvest” are the titles of Patty Lovelace’s still life artistic works being shown in the 36th Annual Adult Juried Art Exhibition being held by the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council.

“I am extremely honored to be chosen for exhibition in this show,” Patty Lovelace said.

“Laura’s Barber Shop is a soft pastel from still life. My neighbor and friend, Laura Dunham, owns Laura’s Marshall Barber Shop in Marshall. Her clients have furnished her with many barber supples from years of cutting hair. She allowed me to arrange those items in a still life adding a barber’s pole and love.

“A Slice of Harvest is a mixed medium painting using acrylics and soft pastels. It is a still life set up with articles from my kitchen and a favorite fruit of mine, the apple. The acrylic paint is used for the background and as an underpainting. The soft pastels are used for the towel, highlights on the bowl and some apples.”

Rebecca Narramore of Linden holds one of her two art gourds which were juried into the 36th Annual TRAHC Adult Art Exhibition. Gourds, which may never be thought of as beautiful, can appear more than elegant under the hand of a skilled and imaginative artist such as this one from Rebecca Narramore.

“I love working with gourds … you never know how the piece will turn out,” Rebecca Narramore begins her explanation.

“Each gourd offers a ‘canvas’ that responds in its own way. Variations in the color, markings and texture affect the final piece and alway provide unanticipated surprises.

“When people ask me how I get ideas for for a piece, I tell them the gourd speaks to me and inspires me about color, decoration and finish. I like to use items from nature to decorate pieces, sometimes using pine needles to coil and stitch into a collar or make sinuous roping around the gourd.

“Stones, shells, pieces of found glass, hickory nut shells and dried botanicals are some. High gloss finishes sometimes make the gourd piece look almost like a ceramic while softer finishes can look like leather or even wood.”

An apple that artist Terri deNatale ended up eating herself turned into one of the two of her works judged into the TRAHC 36th Annual Adult Juried Art Exhibition.

Terri’s successful juried art this year for two paintings was preceded by an earlier painting in the 2021 TRAHC show which not only was juried into the exhibition but also went on to receive the Yates Award. This means it is part of the permanent collection that the TRAC museum owns.

Here is her explanation of one of her two works, i.e., “Good the to the Last Bite.”

“The painting titled ‘Good to the Last Bite’ is an oil done on panel. It was started in a demo that I did using cold wax as a medium with the oil paint to lay down some background color. As a still life lighted by a spot lamp, I took a bite of the apple and created a crunching sound with a sweetness that followed.

“Using an angled tool, I was able to show the crisp edge, and with bright colors this reminded me of the sweet juiciness that followed.

“Later I finished the painting and ate the apple which was … good to the last bite! Such enjoyment and fun.” deNatale is an eager promotor of the arts and believes they have a deeper meaning for the public.

“I think art is an imaginary and spiritual bridge or pathway allowing the viewer to transcend boundaries,” she responded when asked.